


Blackmail And Other Issues

by Sleepy_fan



Series: bthb [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blackmail, Brainwashing, Kidnapping, M/M, Manipulation, Violence, unhealthy relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-06 04:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18381008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_fan/pseuds/Sleepy_fan
Summary: Dreamswap Blue decides to strike a deal with DS Dream





	1. Blackmail

**Author's Note:**

> this is also cross-posted on my tumblr

“Oh Dreamy-boy~! I hope that you’re not busy, as you and I need to have a little chat.” Blue sang, squatting on the open windowsill, grinning at the golden angel, his eye lights shining brightly with a genuine glee that sent a cold shiver run down Dream’s spine.

“And why should I talk to you, Blue? You are a criminal - one raised voice or pulse of my magic, and you’ll be thrown in the dungeon, while it is decided what to be done with you. I do have power restraining cuffs and chains that hold you, and given the crimes that I know for a fact that you have committed…” Dream threatened, turning to face the other with a scowl “And for your information, I have a great deal of paperwork to do, and am in no mood to entertain your nonsense. I will grant you a thirty-second head start out of here before alerting the guards to your presence. Starting-”

“I know why you won’t kill Nightmare. Despite everything that you say to your loyal followers about how you will kill him when you capture him, you haven’t yet. and I know that you’ve managed to capture him at least a dozen times. You’ve even had him in your grasp for months a couple of times, and yet he still breathes. Tell me, did your lackeys ever question you, or are they too blinded by your light to understand the truth?” Blue purred, cutting Dream off as he hopped down from the window and sauntered over to the powerful CEO. He draped himself across the back of the other’s chair, one hand coming up to lightly cup the other’s jaw, leaning so that he could whisper into the other’s non-existent ears “You can’t live without him.”

Dream deliberately suppressed the panic clawing at his soul, so that it didn’t affect his aura. The last thing that he needed was for this miserable, slippery outcode to know for certain that he had something on him, voice hard and implacable, not betraying the tumultuous feelings and thoughts he was struggling to suppress “I have been living without Nightmare as a permanent person in my life for over a hundred years, Blue. I can, and have quite handily, been living without him for quite some time. I don’t know what you think you have on me, but you are wrong.Cease touching me, or I will break your hands.”

Blue clicked his tongue condescendingly at him, shaking his head a little “My powers allow me to see parts of the code of the people and universes I interact with. I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting your other half until quite recently. He is in possession of one of my favorite toys - who I was unable to retrieve due to his and another’s meddling. He’s managed to acquire a pair of adorable misfits - I wonder if he’ll find more. I am sure that there are more out there. But that’s not the most important thing I discovered that day. I’m not quite sure how or why, but your life and his are bound together. If one of you dies, the other will die immediately as well. Given that the two of you have opposing but complementary powers, I suppose that the multiverse decided that the two of you had be closely bound to prevent one of you from killing the other… Perhaps for the emotional balance of the multiverse?” The outcode grinned as he waited for the other to respond.

Dream continued to suppress his emotional reaction. There couldn’t possibly be a way that the other could prove a word of what he was saying. He was fairly confident that he could out bluff the other. “I have never heard of any other being’s life being so closely bound with another’s in the entire time that I have traveled throughout the multiverse. Why would anyone believe you? You are known to be a liar and manipulator.. Whereas I am the head of JR, and have helped millions of beings find safety and happiness.” He was glad that he was able to keep his voice and aura calm and steady, though he had tucked his hands beneath his desk, as they had treacherously started to shake a little.

“If I was lying, then you would have immediately called the guards, no matter what I said.” Blue retorted back “The fact that you’re still talking to me - rather than trying to use violence proves that I am correct. Besides, though my lovely toy and that knife were able to escape, I did steal something from the three of them.” He snapped his fingers, and Nightmare appeared before the both of them, struggling and cursing in the other’s blue strings.

“I DON’T KNOW WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE, YOU SHITHEAD OR WHY YOU - of fucking course you work for Dream! What fresh hell did you pull this asshole out of? Ink wasn’t enough, you had to find another fucking psychopath to add to your collection!” Nightmare ranted, starting to struggle more against the blue strings holding him captive.

“I work for myself, and I would have had him pay me up front before capturing you, oh guardian of negativity. No, I brought you here because I need to give him proof. Once he’s made aware that I know his dirtiest, darkest secrets I’ll send you off to an universe that you’ll be able to run around in causing mischief for some time to come.” Blue cooed, voice full of false sweetness. “What I need from you, Nightmare, is your soul.” With a flick of his wrist, Blue dew out the other’s soul - a violet colored apple, with blue and gold flecks in it. He then used his strings to pull out Dream’s soul - which was a golden apple.

Dream hissed a little in pain - those bright blue strings dug painfully into his soul, and he had summoned his claymore on instinct “Stop this, right now! wh-what are you trying to prove?”

“Oh hush. I was just about to show you.” Blue responded dismissively, lightly touching both Nightmare and Dream’s souls, pulling out their code information - prompting nearly identical whimpers of pain and misery “let’s see… power levels, abilities… Ah, here we go. Mortality and lifespan. See?”

Dream swallowed hard, as written very clearly in Hands, was the fact that his fate and Nightmare’s were tied together. That he and the guardian of negativity were unable to live without the other. Their spirits would cease to exist, and a new guardian or guardians would be created to replace them in Dreamtale. “S-stop this… R-right now… It… hurts…” Dream answered weakly, his voice trembling a little. It wasn’t quite a plea, but it wasn’t a demand either. “What… what is it that you want?”

The smile on Blue’s face widened considerably and he purred in response “There, that’s better! Now that I’m done with you for the time being, Nightmare, I will be letting you go. Ta-ta!”

“Wait, hold on, what the fu-” Nightmare hissed, his eye lights wide with worry and confusion as a portal opened up behind him.

Blue first dismissed the guardian of negativity’s soul back into his body, and then flung the other through the portal with his strings “Oh, do be quiet. I’m done with you. For now at least. This is between me and the leader of JR.” Blue closed the portal, turning to look at Dream again, still holding his soul in his strings, watching him with that unsettling grin on his face.

The CEO kept still, despite the instinctive desire to try to fight the being who was holding his soul hostage - but that wouldn’t help the situation at all. “Just what is it that you are after? I dislike repeating myself. Unless of course, you’re just enjoying holding my soul with your magic?”

“I want so many things, but to start, I would like you to tell your people that I work for you - that way they won’t harass me when I am doing something that could be… Misconstrued as something that is illegal, as I would be doing it to help your organization. I also want to be paid to keep this information quiet, as I doubt that your followers will take very kindly to the fact that you can’t actually kill Nightmare, since you’ve painted him as the true source of all negativity in the multiverse. Not that’s actually true but that’s a different issue and one I don’t particularly care to try to correct other beings on.” Blue responded, his smile widening a little further as he slowly released Dream’s soul.

“How much money do you want per month? I will tell the accounting department that it is your salary for working for me.” Dream responded, scowling a little as he continued to glare at the other, crossing his arms defensively over his chest, dismissing his claymore, despite wanting very much to run the smug glitch through and be done with it… One never knew how hardy outcodes were, and Dream sincerely doubted that a failed attempt at killing the other would mean that the other would ask for less, the next time that Blue worked up the brash courage to approach him like this.

“Oh, while I do like money, that’s not the only form of payment that I want from you.” Blue purred, leaning in close to Dream, lightly tracing a finger along the other’s jawline, settling onto the other’s lap. “Your magic is so warm, and your aura… It really does feel good. At least when you’re in a calm or happy emotional state… I wish to experience that up close with you.”

“So, what? You want to spend time with me while I am happy or calm? That is a… Strange request and not one I am sure I can grant you, given that you are blackmailing me so that you can continue to do illegal and immoral things throughout the multiverse, while being able to claim to do so under my banner.” Dream responded through gritted teeth, eye lights flashing with fury. He shuddered a little at the other’s presumptuous touch “What reasons do you have for touching me like this? Stop, now.”

“Come now, surely you know that you’re one of the most eligible and desired bachelors in the multiverse? Wealthy, powerful, a very popular image of an angel - down to the righteous fury and ability and willingness to smite evil and evildoers wherever you appear.” Blue purred, his hands starting to wander a little before he pulled back, his eye lights shining with pure avarice. “But no. You’re not comfortable enough with me yet, for the two of us to become better acquainted with one another like that. At least for now. I want an hour a day of your time, for every day of the week. Provided that you aren’t on a raid of course, or badly injured. I’m sure that the more that we get to know one another, the more time that we will be spending together. during that time the two of us will talk to one another, explore different universes… Perhaps even have a couple of light and friendly sparring matches. I will find you when I have the hour to spend time with you - and I will do my best to come to visit you when you are alone. However if I do come and you are busy, it would be in your best interest to find a way to clear the next hour so that the two of us would be able to spend it alone… Unless of course, you’d like for me to give them an explanation as to why we will be spending time together. Not that I would tell them the truth. I want my monthly salary from JR to be… Oh, given my talents and information network - which I will share with you to an extent - ten thousand gold coins.”

Dream twitched at the rather exorbitant price, before sighing. the bastard had him over a barrel, but Blue wasn’t wrong in his assessment of his abilities, from what the CEO had seen of his skills and network of illegal contacts. “Deal.”

“Wonderful! It’s been such a pleasure doing business with you, Dream! See you soon~.” Blue purred, pressing a light kiss to one of Dream’s cheeks before teleporting away.

The CEO buried his face in his hands, elbows resting on the desk as he forced himself to go through a calming breath exercise. It wasn’t working, but he needed to get a handle on himself, particularly as he could sense someone coming. There was a knock on the door, and he heard a tentative “Sir?”  from the person behind the door.

He straightened, pretending to be the calm, confident leader that many believed him to be at all times.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cross is hanging out with his friends when his boyfriend drops by unexpectedly.

“Cross, why are you crying? There’s no need to be afraid. I’m here for you darling.” Blue cooed as he walked closer to the monochromatic skeleton, a parody of an affectionate smile appearing on his face. “I know that you wanted to spend a bit more time with your friends but business wrapped up early. So that means we can spend more time together.”

“I… But-” Cross started, glancing at Nightmare and Error, the latter was cringing and half hiding behind the both of them “You… You promised that I’d be able to spend the afternoon with Night and Error. We… We planned on playing video games and eating pizza…” He could feel himself shaking - but why? It was just his boyfriend smiling and talking to him. He needed to calm down. So why was panic clawing at his soul, and a light echo of his voice screeching in the back of his mind to flee?

A pout appeared on Blue’s face, and the other’s eye lights wobbled a little “I… I know that’s what I promised, but part of that is because I anticipated that work would take me all day, and I know that you get really lonely all by yourself at our home… Don’t you want to spend time with me? Or is it that you… You don’t really love me…” Blue sighed forlornly, the perfect picture of heartbreak as he hung his head.

“N-No that’s not it! I do love you, B-Blue… It’s just… I had made plans with my friends and you… You keep changing your schedule on me and I… I haven’t been able to see either one of them for more than an hour in a month and a half and they’ve been worried.” Cross spluttered, rushing towards his boyfriend, gently touching one of the other’s shoulders, wanting to scoop the other up, but knowing that Blue liked being asked before he hugged the other.

“Awww… It’s cute that they’re worried, but… I wonder why? It’s not like I’ve ever hurt anyone before. I haven’t lifted a hand to strike a single person in my entire life.” Blue responded, looking further hurt “I… I know that Error, for some reason, is quite scared of me… I do admit that our break up was… Unfortunate. But that was years ago, and I do remember apologizing to him for any hurts that I may have given him while we were close… I only meant to help after all…” He lightly traced the line of Cross’s jaw. Such a powerful piece on the board, and he hoped to steal him from Nightmare. But the other’s loyalty, while an endearingly helpful trait, could also be very irritating at times, since his friends were difficult to turn to his side.

“I… I know…” Cross glanced at Blue, then over to Nightmare and Error and back again. He really wanted to continue hanging out with his friends… But Blue wanted his attention, and he would be a bad boyfriend for ditching Blue in favor of them… Right? It wasn’t as if Cross had ever dated anyone before now. This stuff was difficult and confusing - he was… He was grateful that Blue was so patient with him, in this. “I… But… I-”

Blue sighed, looking away from Cross and stepping away from the taller skeleton, wrapping one arm around himself and slumping his shoulders downwards “I suppose I have been taking up an awful lot of your time… I won’t.. I won’t stop you if you really would rather spend time with your friends, than with me… It’s just-”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” Nightmare growled, his violet eye lights flashing with an emotion that Cross couldn’t quiet identify “You. Get out of my house. You distress Error and I don’t want to hear your voice anymore. Cross, stay with us. Just because you’re dating a…. Just because you’re dating, doesn’t mean that you have to spend every possible moment with them. A little bit of space to breathe and be yourself, alright?”

“Fine, fine. I just hope that you won’t yell at me so much every time I’m over to come and collect my boyfriend. I don’t know why you feel the need to be so rude, Nightmare…” Blue responded with a sigh “But as no one here wants me… I-I’ll go…” He teleported out of the other’s house, before walking to his car, silently counting the seconds.

“Stars damn it Nightmare, why do you have to be so mean to Blue? I… Blue… Blue wait!” Cross called out, running after him, the door to the criminals’ current hideout thrown wide open as the tall skeleton nearly ran into Blue, skidding to a halt in the snow.

Right on time. This was going well. Now, if only those two would stop interfering he’d be much further along with Cross. “Yes, beloved?” He asked, sending the other a good facsimile of a sad half-smile.

“I do love you… A-and I promise to be home by four, alright? I’ll swing by that taco place in Swap 6788 that you like so much! O-okay?” Cross manages out, clearly worried and unsure.

“I… Okay. Thank you, darling.” Blue responded, going up onto his tiptoes and pressing a kiss to the other’s teeth. “See you home at three. With tacos! I’ll make sure to whip up a little surprise for you in thanks for cutting your hang out time with your friends short.”

“Okay! I look forwards to it. Thanks, Blue!” Cross answers cheerfully, taking a couple of steps back as the swap Sans got into his multi-dimensional car and drove of. He really hoped that Nightmare and Error didn’t start up the whole _Blue is a manipulative asshat and you shouldn’t date him argument again_. They really upset him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue is a Lying Liar. Cross discovers this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for this chapter: unhealthy relationship, manipulation, swearing, blackmail, kidnapping, violence

“Blue! You’ve been manipulating and lying to me for months! I found my phone - my friends have been worried about me. I found it in your room and I’ve read the taunting messages you’ve been sending them on it. That’s… That’s it! I’m done. I’m done with you and I’m done with this.” Cross hissed, his mismatched eye lights glowing brightly with anger and a little bit of betrayal. He had really loved Blue, and had hoped that the other wasn’t as bad as Error and Nightmare had said.

Blue froze, staring at Cross’ phone in his hands. He’d been charging it - and he responded sweetly “Oh, but you would have only found that if you’d have gone through my room without asking first… And there’s no need to be so hasty beloved. Before  you try to leave… Which would hurt me ever so much… There are a few things that you’re not aware of. Things that might change your mind, sweetheart.”

“Like what, you twisted, code-manipulating asshole?” Cross hissed. He should have known that this twisted asshole was the reason why he’d been having nightmares of his piece of shit father and what happened in X-Tale before everything ended.

“So harsh… But I do hope that you will apologize for being so mean to me soon. I suspect that you will.” Blue responded with an unsettling grin. He twitched his fingers, and the familiar figures of Nightmare and Error appeared before him. Their souls were wrapped up in the other’s strings, and their eye lights were extinguished. They stood before Cross, as if waiting for something. “You see… My strings allow me to control anyone whose soul I have wrapped up, Cross. They came here to try to rescue you from me. Which is so silly, right? We’re so clearly in love… It’s just that your friends are being overprotective.”

No. No no no. This was Gaster and Overwrite all over again. Cross summoned his blade on reflex,  holding out in front of himself defensively, his hands shaking “L-let them go! Ri-right now.” That wasn’t the confident demand he’d wanted it to be. More like a terrified plea. Tears started to fall from his eye sockets “Blue… Blue please… Th-they’re my best friends… Please no… They don’t… Not like this… Please don’t keep them as puppets. I… I’ll… What do you wa-want, Blue?” The blade vanished and Cross felt his knees give out and he hit the floor, hard.

Blue walked over to him, tilting his chin upwards, purring with a wide smirk “All I want is for you to stay by my side forever… As you promised. You stay with me, and I"ll let your friends go.”

“I…. I’ll… I’ll stay. I promise. Please just let them go. Please Blue… I… I’ll be good. I’ll be good I promise.” Cross responded, shivering a little, not daring to get off of his knees.

“I’m so happy to hear that, my dearest love.” Blue responded with a smirk, and with a flick of his hand, Nightmare and Error were sent through a portal, his strings leaving the other’s souls. “Now… About those harsh words you called me earlier…”

Cross apologized for his harshness over and over again with words and gentle kisses, doing his utmost to appease the powerful creature whose side he was trapped at, shoving back his tears and panic - not wanting to incite the other’s irritation further.

~

Cross had been… Staying with Blue for the better part of two weeks after that awful argument. The two of them had been dating for a few months, before he’d figured out that the other was every bit the manipulative, conniving asshole that Error and Nightmare had been trying to warn him that the other was. He’d… Suspected a couple of weeks from that point – as there were certain ways that Blue talked that reminded him of… Of… No. Thinking about him would put him into that fearful, cowed mindset and Blue would definitely use that to his advantage.

But Cross was terrified that if he tried to leave the other, that Blue would just use those stars-damned strings of his in order to force him to come back to his side - either by dragging his own body - or threatening Nightmare and Error again… And it wasn’t as if there was anyone else he could go to for this, either. Nightmare and Error had been captured once, so it stood to reason that Blue could capture them again. The fact that Cross had seriously thought about surrendering himself to Justice Reigns and throwing himself on Dream’s mercy - to warn him of what Blue was truly capable of - just spoke of his desperation.

Cross was making Blue’s favorite food - spaghetti tacos. He would melt grated parmesan into little circular disks, letting them cool into the shapes of taco shells, while the pasta sauce that he’d been working and monitoring for hours continued to cook merrily on the stove. Water sausage ground up finely and turned into meatballs - with Blue’s choice of spices were currently being finished in the oven. He’s already made the other’s favorite dessert for afterwards, which was currently waiting the second coating of frosting. All made to Blue’s exacting standards.

The former royal guard still didn’t know whether or not they’d actually eat any of this tonight - or if Blue would decide on the way home that he wanted to drag him out for a date - which meant he would be either dragged to an incredibly expensive restaurant and forced to eat tiny plates of food that tasted utterly gross and pretend to enjoy it… Or go to one of the parties that some of Blue’s more affluent contacts occasionally threw, wearing clothing that his boyfriend picked out for him and expected to be social and charming… Or at least not an “Asocial grump hiding in the darkest corner of the room, hissing at anyone who comes close. Honestly Cross.” As Blue had so disapprovingly put it.

Cross jumped a little when he heard something that sounded a lot like a whimper came from beneath the floorboards. He paused for a moment, and he heard a couple more of those sounds, originating from a certain spot in their house. Cross squinted, feeling a handle on the floor, despite it looking like a bare patch of wood. He grabbed the invisible handle and pulled, groaning a little and gritting his teeth as he ripped the apparently secret door off it’s hinges, shattering the lock.

He could sense a couple of… Familiar magical signatures in the secret basement he hadn’t known existed and jumped into the pitch black hole, feeling for a light switch, hissing at how bright the overhead light was when he eventually found it. There, chained to the wall, were Nightmare and Error. Both of them looked really woozy - as if they’d been drugged or repeatedly bashed over the head. Cross’s eye lights widened in horror as he noticed that the chains that were holding them were the light color of Blue’s magical threads - kept in place by the holders placed strategically on the wall, keeping them pinned without Blue having to hold them there himself.

Horrified by the sight in front of him - and unwilling to think of the full implications of this - as it likely meant that blue had held people here like this before - as otherwise why the hell did the other know that he could do this? Especially someone like Nightmare- who was a powerful quasi-immortal. He summoned his sword and cut the both of them down. and they woke up as the strings were cut from their souls. “I… He… He said that…”

“It’s not your fault, Cross…” Nightmare groaned, starting to recover first “The shitty fucker had you convinced that he’d let us go. Error - can you get a portal open so the three of us can get the fuck out of here?”

“I… It’s going to take me a couple of moments, but I’m going to start - we should probably get moving - the further we are from the house, the less likely that bastard is going to find us immediately.” Error hissed, his eyes flashing with anger, despite the fact that the other was trembling violently.

“How rude, Error! After all we’ve been through, you’re being so mean to me. Now, Cross. What did I tell you about opening doors that were locked in this house?” Blue called out, staring down at the three of them, his hands on his hips as he shook his head in disapproving disappointment.

“FUCK YOU! You said that you would let them go!” Cross hissed back, determination and anger filling him. He felt something pull, a whisper of a voice in the back of his head and he raised a hand skywards (well, towards the floorboards. But still) summoning an attack.

“You say that as if I hadn’t tried to let them go. I tried - I really did. But they were determined to try to rescue you, despite hearing that you were staying with me.” Blue responded with a sigh “No, let’s not start anything hasty, Cross-”

“The only reason why I stayed is because you were threatening their fucking lives you smug asshole!” Cross yelled, fury eclipsing his fear, both of his eye lights blazing a bright, determined red. “You never did really let them go, did you?” He heard the giggle and cackle of someone who he long thought truly dead.

Chara rested a hand on his shoulder “Let’s punish him for hurting our friends. I’ve been asleep for so long… And I liked to sleep - but let’s kill him together, Cross.”

“… I don’t like killing, Chara. But we should teach him a lesson, so he leaves us and our friends alone.” Cross responded, frowning a little and glancing at the human’s ghost.

“Fine, but if he goes after our friends again, he doesn’t deserve the MERCY you will try to show him. Be careful, partner~!” Chara giggled, their eyes blazing with blood lust and determination.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s-” Cross started, summoning a dozen daggers and throwing them at Blue - who yelped in shock and dodged. He stopped his attack and speaking as one of Nightmare’s hands landed on his other shoulder, and the anger and stress drained from him. Chara - who looked irritated - flickered from his vision.

“We don’t have to fight Blue, Cross. Error’s got the portal open. Let’s just go. The longer we stay here, the more likely it is that he’ll capture us again.” Nightmare pointed out reasonably. “I want to kick his ass too, but it’s not worth it.”

“I… I… Alright. You’re right, as usual.” Cross responded with a huff, his attacks vanishing in a puff of magic as he followed the other through the portal. He blinked a couple of times, reaching up to get rid of a black, sticky substance that had apparently been dripping from his eye sockets. Weird, that. The three of them went to the omega timeline, talking to Core Frisk and playing video games until they passed out in a comfortable heap together, safe and happy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue’s so happy to see his beloved again. So why is Cross being so rude?

“There you are, darling! I’ve been searching everywhere for you!” Blue called out, a bright grin appearing on his face as he walked over to where Cross was.

They were currently in a surface AU and the two of them were in the middle of a farmer’s market. Cross wouldn’t be in a higher-end place like this, but one of the vendors had a particular kind of yarn that Error really, really liked, and both he and Nightmare had agreed to spend the hard-earned G to gift it to their boyfriend as a surprise. Not because it was the other’s birthday coming up, or because they had an anniversary, but just because they wanted to spoil him a little. Cross’ eye lights shrink to pinpricks and he can feel himself shaking. He’d thought that they were free of this bastard, stars damn him. “H-How did you f-find me?”

The smile on Blue’s face fell, and a hurt frown took it’s place. To complete the look, the shorter skeleton slumped forwards a little, and tears gathered in the corner of the other’s eye sockets, the picture of being surprised painfully “I… I’ve been searching for you everywhere for months. I’ve been so worried.” The outcode walked closer to Cross as he spoke, his voice tinged with confusion and sorrow, along with relief.

Cross couldn’t move. The world was going a little fuzzy around the edges and panic was overwhelming anything else he was trying to think or feel. His hands were shaking as he stared at the other. No. Not again, he needed to move, he needed to escape and flee to the other two. Warn them that Blue had found them again and that they would need to hide in the Omega Timeline again. “I-I… Y-you… P-Please don-don’t-” Stars damn it, he thought he was over this!

“Please don’t what, darling? It’s okay… You don’t have to be afraid anymore, sweetheart. I’m here…” Blue cooed, wrapping one arm around Cross’s waist, the other coming up to gently cup his chin, tilting his face downwards a little “Shh… It’s okay, Crossy. I’m here. We’re finally together again, and my car’s not far from here. We can go home and be together again… Forever this time, just like you promised.”

No, no, no! Not back to that cold, lifeless timeline, to that small house where the walls seemed to close in on him, and the secret torture-basement that Blue had kept his friends, using Error’s own strings against him in order to keep them trapped. “N… No… No!” Cross protested, flinching a little and finally able to get his uncooperative body to actually move. He shoved the other away and took several small steps backwards, his breathing fast and shallow “I d… I don’t want to go with you! I h-have a h-home and it’s.. It’s not with you!” Cross turned and fled, too terrified and panicky to even think about teleporting home - besides if he did that Blue would follow him right to where the other two were and he couldn’t do that to them. He dodged around milling customers, leapt over tables and ducked through little stalls, all in a desperate attempt to try to get away from Blue - who’s magic he could sense close by still. He was fairly sure he was putting some good distance between himself and that miserable asshole when Cross was unable to successfully dodge a group of chattering humans, falling flat on his back, wincing in pain as the foot he’d landed on twinged painfully. Just as he started to get up, he felt blue magic wrap around his soul, pinning him to the ground, even as he squirmed and desperately tried to get free.

Blue came sauntering over, a small smirk on his face, and a golden pin affixed to his cyan scarf that definitely hadn’t been there before. Where the actual fuck had he gotten one of those pins? They were supposed to be keyed to a person’s magic or soul resonance (which meant that they couldn’t be stolen or given away). A golden circle, with the letters JR within the borders of the circle. It looked legitimate - rather than a cleverly forged fake. “Nothing to see here, folks. This is a very dangerous criminal, who I’ve been tracking for the better part of the year. It would be best to clear off - and ignore anything he says. He’s a liar and a murderer.”

The monsters and humans around the two of them nodded, immediately leaving the area - occasionally glancing back at Cross with confused or frightened glances. Not that he was able to overcome his shock and horror at the fact that Blue was seemingly a member of Justice Reigns now. Not until the bastard was standing in front of him, kneeling over and grabbing his injured ankle, smirking down at him. Cross managed to sputter out “Wh… What the hell? I… I thought you d-disapproved of m-murder?”

Blue’s grin brightened a little further as he adjusted his JR pin with the hand that wasn’t clamped firmly around Cross’ injured ankle “While his lordship can be a bit… Harsh with his methods, they are incredibly effective. Besides, being a member of Justice Reigns comes with some interesting perks, you know. I work directly with Von Licht, as a matter of fact. The two of us have grown rather close as the two of us have worked together to try to find you and his… Nightmare. But there’s no need to be jealous about that, sweetheart. I still love you best.”

That can’t possibly mean anything good for anyone. Not in the long run - but Cross thought that Dream was at least sensible enough not to make any deals with this particular devil… Then again, Nightmare had mentioned that Blue’d kidnapped him a couple of years ago to mock Dream - but only for a little while. Nothing seemed to have come of it, so Cross had forgotten that little piece of information. Mostly because it hadn’t made much sense whatsoever “Let me go, damn it! I left your manipulative ass months ago!” He struggled in the other’s grasp - trying to kick Blue so that the smaller skeleton would let him go.

Instead, Blue started to drag him towards one of the nearby streets, causing Cross to yelp as his injured ankle twinged painfully “I’m hurt that you would go back on your word so easily. After all, you did promise me over and over again that you wouldn’t leave me… Like everyone else who I’ve ever loved did… But I don’t entirely blame you. Nightmare and Error led you astray. But don’t worry, I’m here now. I’m sure you’ll remember how to love me soon enough.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, having noticed that his best assassin is distracted, helps to rectify the issue.

“-and Ink, once this meeting is concluded, I would like you to stay behind for a few moments. There is something that I would like to show you.” Dream said, addressing his best assassin, looking directly at the other for a moment, before continuing to speak with the group of investors, talking about the opportunities that their G had brought to several disadvantaged timelines that Justice Reigns had recently come into contact with. Fell timelines were always tricky to deal with, but as their leader - an Undyne - had mysteriously dusted a couple of weeks before Dream had approached them, their world in even more chaos, promising peace and freedom from their underground prison, in exchange for cooperation and adherence to JR’s laws and guidelines.

“Yes boss.” Ink answered flatly, barely glancing up at the taller skeleton before staring at his phone some more. He was incredibly bored and still had no idea why that Dream insisted that he went to these things It wasn’t as if any of the people who paid assloads of G and magical items into Justice Reigns would suddenly try to stab the CEO… Or one another. Even if most of them were in it for the money and opportunities that being able to expand their own businesses into new timelines, and because it looked good to the adoring masses to be so closely associated to the multiversal justice bringers. If they had any idea of even half of really what went on, well… Ink mentally shook himself, Dream would probably be able to spin things so that the public would still eat out of the palm of his hands, anyways. Besides, everyone who knew anything about the organization was aware of their no-mercy policy towards criminals.

His phone buzzed almost silently, and Ink was glad that his phone was on silent - as strictly speaking - the only person who should have this number is Dream - along with whoever temporarily has it if he has to work with someone on a mission. It was his boyfriend - Error. The other sent him a picture of a half-created knit creation of some kind (it looked like a… Blanket? Maybe? It looked too big to be a shirt or socks) and a cheerful message of [I’m almost done with this section! I’m going to be using that yarn that you got me a couple of months ago - it really is very gorgeous. Do you know when you’ll be able to stop by again? I miss you.]

Ink was very glad that his scarf covered his mouth - as otherwise everyone else in the room would have noticed him suddenly smile as he looked at his phone - and Dream would ask why and he’d have to come up with some bullshit excuse - like he was looking up a meme to troll the other with later or something like that. Which had about a fifty-fifty chance of flying past the powerful empath’s radar. He didn’t know that his eye lights gave him away - both of them hearts, one upside down, the other right side up, one pink the other yellow.

The boring as shit meeting eventually came to an end - after a truly mind-numbing amount of blather and as-kissing on the part of the investors. How Dream had managed to convince so many people that the son shone directly out of his ass, Ink could only guess. Then again, the other’s aura was incredibly effective at getting other people to trust him. Ink himself had been completely under Dream’s spell for much longer than he would have liked to admit, before Error, Cross and Nightmare had grabbed him and smacked his head on straight…

He’d fallen head over heels for Error a couple of weeks after that, during a fight in which he and several other members of JR had been sent after them, to try and capture three of the most wanted criminals in the multiverse. Error was an impressive fighter and a complete nerd. Ink had acted on impulse and accidentally splattered his JR compatriots with paint meant to bind the person or people hit with it, and had rushed over to free them, conveniently allowing the three criminals time to escape. That had been a little over a year from now.

“Ink, if you would follow me to my office?” Dream prompted him, the other’s aura feeling… Strange to him.

Ink nodded and answered back with some reluctance “Yes boss.” He hoped that he would get another mission soon - that way he could spend a couple of hours with Error. If he was lucky, it would be a longer mission and he might even get a couple of days without it seeming to be suspicious. He felt one of Dream’s hands land on his left shoulder as soon as the investors were out of sight, and the other teleported the both of them to-

Just outside of the holding cells. Specifically the section that housed the very dangerous, highly powerful criminals who Dream was either trying to work on in order to convert them to his side… Or to keep in power-restricting cuffs until the R&D people found out how to kill them. “Uhh… Boss? This isn’t… This isn’t your office.”

“No, it’s not. Then again, you haven’t been entirely truthful with me, have you, Ink?” The winged guardian responded, staring intently at Ink, folding his arms over his chest and staring the soulless being down.

“I… Uhhh… Wh-what do you mean by that, boss?” Ink answered, hesitant. There were all sorts of things he was lying to Dream about. Which lies had he been caught out on? Was the other about to try to throw him in jail? Because if so, the other was going to have a hell of a fight on his hands, as he wasn’t about to just waltz into custody.

“You have been delaying the completion of your missions in order spend time with someone. You have been romantically entangled with this person for at least a year, and have been spending increasing amounts of time with them. If you had simply told me of your interest in this person in the first place, you would not have felt the need to sneak around behind my back. Even if they are a wanted criminal. Or, well. Were a wanted criminal. I’ve fixed that little issue.” Dream responded, raising a browbone at the other before gesturing to the guards on the other side of the door.

Between four heavily armed guards was Error. The other looked at Ink and smiled warmly at him, the half-created blanket dangling from his needles as they clicked quietly. His clothes were… Different than before. They looked almost the same, but something was definitely off about them. Error’s eye lights brightened at the sight of him and he swiftly walked over to Ink, reaching out and lightly touching one of his shoulders briefly before stopping and saying “Hello, beloved! How are you?” There was something slightly… Off about the way Error said that, and his eye lights seemed to be partially fuzzed out.

“E-Error?” Ink managed out, staring at his boyfriend, desperately trying to understand what had happened. There was no way that the other would be so calm normally. He looked up at Dream and managed to ask without stammering (don’t show weakness, Ink, keep it together!) “Uh… Boss? Wh… How?” and gestured at his boyfriend. Oh fuck what did Dream do?

“You have, against all odds, might I add, as you are soulless, fallen in love with someone. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? I am the guardian of positivity after all. As for Error, he’s been under the protection of Justice Reigns for the past few months, and in that time I and others… Worked with him, in order to ensure that he would no longer be a dangerous outlaw, but rather a fitting significant other for someone as highly ranked within my organization as you are.” Dream explained, a small smirk appearing on his face “And you needn’t worry about his two accomplices and friends. I have been working on them as well. Nightmare is a great deal more stubborn, but Cross on the other hand… Cross has some interesting properties of his soul that have allowed me to… Convince him to our side. Not that he hasn’t fully capitulated yet to my satisfaction. Now, off with the both of you. There are several fantastic restaurants within easy walking distance of Justice Reigns, and I want the both of you to enjoy being able to openly spend time with one another.”

What else could he do or say? If he reacted explosively, things would very quickly go to shit - he could see dozens of guards around them. So instead all he said was “Yes boss, thank you. Come on Error, let’s go on an actual date for once.”

“That sounds wonderful, darling…” Error murmured, his voice still distressingly spacy “I am very grateful to Lord Von Licht for showing me the error of my ways… Stars only know how worried you must have been about what I was up to, when we were apart. I’m sorry for worrying you so much.”

Fuck. Fuck he’d never thought this would have happened “I… Err… Shit, Error. I’ve wanted to cause some chaos in my time too. I just didn’t…” Didn’t want him to get hurt or killed by JR. Stars above what the actual hell did they do to him? Ink hoped that away from the cell and the torture, Error would come back to himself. The two of them walked through JR, Ink hovering close. If Error wasn’t haphephobic, Ink would be holding one of the other’s hands. As it was the assassin stayed as close to his beloved as he knew wouldn’t make the other uncomfortable and tried not to openly glare at every single being the two of them came across as they left the main part of Justice Reigns. The whole damn AU belonged to Dream - and from what the other had said… It was implied that Dream didn’t want the two of them leaving this AU together.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue is so happy to finally be able to be with his boyfriend again without others interfering.

A/N: This chapter has fanart! [Here](https://littlepigart.tumblr.com/post/183984245005/base-on-one-scene-in-a-crueswap-fanfic-all-idea-is)

 

“You called, Dream?” Blue asked, his eye lights bright and hopeful as he took in the sight before him. Nightmare was quietly sitting in Dream’s lap, leaning against the taller skeleton’s chest, his violet eye lights dull and partially fuzzed. But he wasn’t yelling or trying to escape. The other didn’t even have any power restricting cuffs on - so the negative spirit could technically get up and try to leave Justice Reign’s Headquarters. He’d also seen Ink and Error talking quietly with one another, walking around one of the courtyards on his walk over here, hand in hand, voices low. Blue would have approached him, but Ink’s vicious glare had made Blue reconsider - he wasn’t a fighter, after all.

“Yes. You’ve expressed an interest in Cross in the past. I have a proposition for you - in exchange for leaving me and mine alone - unless of course you have credible and valuable information to sell to me - I will give you Cross… Although I suspect that his friends will miss him… And you are… Technically a member of JR and are open to stay here with your datemate. There are several private rooms already prepared for you and Cross, should you wish to stay here. I based them off of what your home looks like in Outertale.” The CEO offered, looking up from his paperwork.

“I… I see. Well, I’d have to take a look at the rooms! And where may I ask is Cross?” Blue asked, doing his best not to bounce on the balls of his feet - he wouldn’t have to pay rent, which would be nice… But operating his business underneath Von Licht’s nonexistent nose would be difficult… But a fun challenge.

Nightmare shifted a little on Dream’s lap, pressing a light kiss to one of the other’s cheeks before resting his head on one of the other’s shoulders, his eye lights going out with a soft sigh. Incredible. Blue was truly impressed with what the CEO had done to the most wanted being in the multiverse - and was eagerly looking forwards to seeing Cross, hopeful that the other was just as pliant and cuddly.

“He is waiting for you in the prepared rooms. I will have Vincent take you there. I do hope that you decide to stay here with us. Or at least allow Cross to see his friends. I suspect he’ll miss them, otherwise.” The CEO responded, smiling warmly as he nuzzled Nightmare, calling the named monster in.

~

Cross was sitting on one of the chairs, looking up at him and smiling absently as soon as he walked in through the door. “Blue…” He called out, reaching for him, though staying put in the chair. “They told me to wait until you came… I’ve… I’ve missed you so much…”

“And I’ve missed you as well, darling.” Blue purred “Why don’t you get up and come over here. I’d like a kiss, if you’d like?”

Cross nodded and eagerly bounced up to his feet, rushing over to the smaller skeleton and pulling him in for a hug, purring absently as he pressed a light kiss to the other’s teeth. “I’m so happy that you’re home. Is there anything I can do to make up for being so awful to you earlier? I… I think I hurt you or… Or something like that…” The other frowned a little, shaking his head a little.

“Hey… Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart. Misunderstandings happen. Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you. We’ll be able to make up for lost time…” Blue soothed, his eye lights bright stars. This was fantastic. After a moment’s pause he hummed “I know what you can do to make it up to me~!”

“Oh? What is it? I’d be happy to do anything you asked… Even if I had to stand on my head in the middle of JR and sing badly or something ridiculous like that.” Cross offered, his mismatched eye lights slightly unfocused, but sounding earnest.

“I want you to make a batch of those double chocolate brownies of yours, with that really delicious frosting. I’ll get the ingredients and we can make it together.” Blue explained brightly.

The monochromatic skeleton nodded eagerly , hugging him tightly and answering “Okay! I’d love to do that for you, Blue.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink schemes and plans and manages to pull of saving the meme squad

It took months for Ink to figure out what in the fresh hell Dream had done to his boyfriend and the other’s two only friends. It seemed to be a mix of standard brainwashing techniques along with using the other’s powerful emotive aura in order to influence the other three… There was also the fact that the bastard had somehow figured out how to change Nightmare from a negative spirit into a positive one…

On one hand, Ink could stand being around the other more as the other’s presence didn’t cause him to feel shitty feelings (he was careful not to drink any of his vials that contained negative emotions - he didn’t want Dream to realize what his true thoughts and genuine feelings about this whole damned situation was - he knew that the other could influence him super fucking easily due to his soullessness)… On the other hand, Dream had completely reworked another being’s entire magical makeup because that’s what he decided was best for them.

Ink had also noticed that the brainwashing had to be reinforced regularly - which was one of the main reasons why Dream had politely insisted that Blue and Cross stay in Justice Reigns - along with the fact that he could see the manipulative feathered ass starting in on Blue - albeit in a much more subtle manner, so as not to cause the mercurial outcode to grab his prize and flee to some unknown corner of the multiverse. Whether or not it was due to the unusual nature of their beings - Error was an outcode, Cross had half a Determined Human’s soul and Nightmare, in addition to being quite powerful, was also an emotive guardian and somewhat resistant to Dream’s powers. Moreso than the rest of the multiverse, at least.

It took him an additional four months of carefully planned interruptions in those brainwashing sessions - a small emergency here, a call from a crucial backer there, the discovery of a dangerous and sneaky cult or a gang that had manage to steal a couple of JR’s dimensionally capable cars and wreaking havoc - but they were starting to come back to themselves. It also took that long for him to get the other two to agree to allow him to watch the three of them play video games in his rooms within Justice Reigns while Blue was off being sketchy and Dream was chasing down the last of the gang of surprisingly well-armed criminals. One of the three of them needed to stay here - they couldn’t let the public think that the head of JR was worried about those assholes, now could they?

Interestingly enough, Cross was the first to actually wake up, his eye lights brightening suddenly into focus, and a long string of colorful curses before the other tackled him to the floor, hissing “Ink, if you don’t get this power suppressing collar off of me, I will figure out if I can strangle you to death with my bare fucking hands, do you understand?”

Ink couldn’t stop a relieved grin from appearing on his face as he started to fumble with the lock a little “Thank the fucking stars. Hopefully you can help me get the other two back to their senses as well.”

This took a lot of the aggression out of Cross, who let him go and stared in confused surprise “I… What? Wait - don’t tell me you were the one engineering all of that bullshit for the past year or so? I… Why would you do that. You’re loyal to Dream, aren’t you? I mean… You betrayed me for him.” this was said with no small amount of bitter suspicion. “What are you planning, you soulless fuck?”

“What I’ve been planning is to get the three of you un-brainwashed, you salty asshole. Error and I have been dating for three years. We’ve been keeping it on the down low, and I’ve been passing him information about where JR and the feathered shitbag is going to be going as best as I can. Surely you’ve noticed that the three of you have been running into a lot fewer of their patrols before you got fucking captured.”

“Wait, you’re Error’s boyfriend who works in JR who managed to rescue him before we did that one time? Hoooly shit. That… No that does make a lot of sense. Nightmare said that based off of the intel that you were able to give us, you had to be pretty close. I just wasn’t expecting the person to be Dream’s number one assassin… And thank you for not leaving us to rot.” Cross grumbled grudgingly, folding his arms over his chest before he realized what he was wearing “… Eugh.  Please tell me you’ve got a spare set of my actual outfit? I can’t believe that I ever agreed to wear this.”

Ink snorted. The light blue shirt and dark grey pants actually looked pretty good on Cross - they also complemented Blue’s colors - which was the point. “Of course. I recreated all three of yours’ usual outfits. I was going to recommend you change anyways, because I wouldn’t put it past Blue to have sewn some sort of tracker in your clothes - magical or otherwise. You don’t have one actually one you. None of you do. I already checked for that.”

“Thanks for that little bit of nightmare fuel. I’m also going to use the shower really quick… You know who and feather butt aren’t going to be back for a while, right? Or are you expecting one of them to come in at any moment?” Cross asked, unsure as to what was going to happen and deeply suspicious of this whole situation. But Ink did appear to be completely genuine, so far at least.

“Dream is chasing criminals across half of the multiverse, and Blue is trying to gather information about how they managed to steal four of JR’s interdimensional cars. Rumor is that they stole a shipment of the latest vehicles from one of the testing facilities while it was in transit.” Ink answered “They shouldn’t be back here for days, and one of us has to keep an eye on the three of you, so. Here I am. I was hoping that all three of you would shake out of it… Because otherwise-”

“Nightmare will go wandering back to Dream, tell him where we are and then we’re all so much more fucked than we were before.” Cross grumbled, rubbing his face with his hands “Right, I’m going to have a shower. Good luck trying to un-brainwash Nightmare.” For the briefest moment, a look of consideration and uncertainty flashes across the taller skeleton’s face, as if he’s thinking about doing or saying something. But all Cross does is sigh and silently walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Error who - bless his soul - has had flashes of lucidity for the better part of a month - suddenly stiffens up and sobs a little “N-No… N-Not again…” and curls in on himself.

Ink is instantly at the other’s side, with Nightmare frowning in dazed concern at his friend. “Hey… Shh… It’s going to be okay. I’m going to get the three of you to safety, alright? I’ve been trying to get you in your right mind for a while…”

“I… I… You’re right. Thank… Thank you, Ink. You’ve been kind and supportive and trying to get me and my friends back to their true selves… Also, thank you for trying to distract Blue away from Cross - he’s… Very good at manipulating others, and turning them into his loyal little puppets…” Error muttered, burying his face in his hands and trembling a little, before murmuring quietly “… You didn’t just take me and run. You… You’re… My friends, you’ve been trying to…”

“Well,yeah. You are about them. I may be a soulless asshole… But I’m your soulless asshole and I want you to be happy. They make you happy.” Ink explained, fidgeting a little and trying not to blush at the soft expression on his boyfriend’s face.  Honestly, it wasn’t that big a deal. If he was going to betray Dream and piss him off, he might as well go whole hog and save all three of them. Error would never forgive him if he left his two best friends to be twisted like this and try to save them… And Ink could admit to himself that he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he tried to be that selfish, either. Somehow he’d acquired a conscience and it wasn’t due to Dream.

Nightmare groaned quietly, pressing his hands to his face, his shoulders shaking a little. It Took INk a minute to figure out that the formerly negative spirit was crying a little. He edged towards the nearest exit, unsure as to what to do, and having never got along him as well. “Don’t you dare fucking try to leave. You… He had a stars damned illusionary spell placed on me to help fuck with my head. It just faded away. He’s been… I don’t know what all he’s done to me… But you better not fucking decide to fuck off back to Dream. I will find a way to kill you.”

“I wasn’t planning on it. If you don’t remember, Error was also kidnapped and he… That bastard hurt him almost as much as he hurt you. I was going to knock on the door to the bathroom because Cross is taking a shower. There are spare sets of your normal outfits in the bedroom over there for you to change into, to get rid of any trackers you might currently be wearing.” Ink answered bluntly, edging closer to the bathroom door. The water stopped running, which was a good thing.

“… I suppose I’ll believe you for now. I’m guessing you’re Error’s mysterious boyfriend?” Nightmare responded, his voice shaking still, but his eye sockets were devoid of tears as the other looked at him with faded golden eye sockets. “… So what now? Do you have a place for us to run to, or was this an impulsive thing?”

“I’ve been in negotiations with Core Frisk. They don’t trust me worth a damn, which. I mean is fair, but they’ll shelter you three and I’ll be able to stay if I work on the ‘non-destructive’ side of my powers with them. I have no idea what the hell they mean by that, but it’s the only place I can think of that Dream can’t reach. Hell, as far as I know, he has no idea it even exists. They only contacted me after I started working with each of you to try to wake up. How they knew that I really wanted to save you from their bullshit, I don’t know.” Ink responded with a shrug.

“Right, well I’m going to go get dressed - we should probably stock up on supplies before we head to the omega timeline - food and the like is kind of limited there.” Nightmare responded, his eye lights still dull and miserable, standing up and rubbing his face a little. “I never thought that Dream would go quite that far but… Hey, at least I’m not dead.”

“I’ve been stockpiling things at that house that you three have there for the better part of a year. I helped Core make a large section of farmable land before they even agreed to let me stay there more than to drop crap off for them and their little band of refugees. All I’ve been waiting on is the three of you waking up. I’ll get a portal ready.” Ink responded, summoning his brush as Error and Nightmare got up and changed their clothes. The soulless skeleton was aware that Error, Nightmare and Cross were also dating - whether he would be included in their cuddle sessions was up to the three of them. He was simply glad to have a piece of his beloved’s heart.

Cross wandered through the area wearing nothing but a towel and entering the bedroom for clothes, closing it behind them. Ink sat down on the couch, twirling his brush as he concentrated on opening a portal. He was one of the very few people allowed to open portals by the wards that protected this AU. Technically they could go via walking through a door and thinking about the coordinates to the Omega Timeline… But Ink doubted that any one of the three of them would be able to focus enough to do that. Not with the enormity of what had done to them was starting to hit home.

The three of them came out a couple of moments later, Error’s strings curled around a couple of both Nightmare and Cross’s fingers - one of his versions of holding hands, given his aversion to touch. Ink smiled a little at that, startling when he felt a couple of the other’s strings wrap around one of his wrist. Error caught his gaze and murmured softly “Thank you.”

“… You know I’d do anything for you, Error.” Ink murmured. It had taken him longer than he’d like to admit to get his head out of his ass and realize just what Dream really was… But he’d follow Error through hell and back again.

~

The four of them were sitting down on the slightly squashy but very comfortable couch in their home,  hours later after they sorted through the stuff that Ink had grabbed for them, taking a break to watch  Undernovella when a breaking news bulletin interrupted their show. It was Lord Fuckface himself “And I regret to inform you that my personal assistant Ink, for reasons unknown, has kidnapped my mate, Nightmare. Because of this I have placed a bounty on his capture of six million G. If you have seen or know where he might be, there is a confidential phone line you can call. If you have seen my mate, please call. I miss him dearly.”

“Miss me being your obedient toy, more like.” Nightmare muttered angrily from his seat, sandwiched between Cross and Error, scowling darkly. The scowl dropped from his face after a moment, and he whispered softly to himself, as if trying to convince himself “… I don’t miss him. I don’t.”

“… I still sometimes miss Blue. Even after all the stuff he did to me.” Error and Cross admit.

Cross clarified “I mean. Before all of the recent bullshit. And yet, still part of me still misses him greatly. But we’ll heal and grow stronger.”

Nightmare nodded shakily, and the four of them continued to watch the soap opera.


End file.
